Original Tommy's

Los Angeles, CA
www.originaltommys.com



The Order: Double cheeseburger. With chili, American cheese, mustard, tomato, pickles, onions
Side Order: A #1 comes with fries
$7.19
Drink Order: Large Mr. Pibb

Tommy's has been around now for over 65 years, starting at the original location at Rampart and Beverly. All the locations have basically the same food, and comparing the Hollywood blvd. location, where I met Dan for lunch, and the original location, the fare is pretty much the same. The other locations just lack the charm of the original stand.

And the burger never disappoints. If you're looking for a heavy, post-drinking burger, look no further. Every burger comes standard with chili and there's no reason to ask for one without. You wouldn't be getting the full experience. The chili is thick and delicious. The double cheeseburger is more than enough burger for any one person to handle, but if you're feeling man enough, go for the triple. Hell, go for the new Mega combo (a triple, chili cheese fries and a 44oz drink). That'd be enough to take you down a peg or two.

The chili cheese fries are a bit superfluous when there is so much chili dripping off the burger to begin with, and don't make the mistake of eating the free chilis first. You'll be especially unhappy about having to eat the burger so slowly because the heat of your burger in your mouth will be somewhat painful.

Tommy's is a mainstay in LA. I'll always recommend going to the original location over any of the others, especially because they are open 24 hours, and its always the best at 3 in the morning.

In N Out: Secret Menu

Los Angeles, CA
www.in-n-out.com



The Order: Double Double, medium rare. Animal style, w/ grilled whole onions.
Flying Dutchman w/ chopped chilies. ($2.20)
Side Order: Animal style fries ($2.79)
$3.15 + $2.20 + $2.79 = $8.14
Drink Order: Dr. Pepper. Lemon Up (Pink Lemonade and Seven Up)



Now, I've been going to In N Out for years before living in NY, having lived in Los Angeles for 6 years. I knew about the 'secret menu' which involves things like getting your burger Animal Style (a mustard grilled patty with pickles, grilled onions and thousand island dressing), protein style (no bun, your burger wrapped in lettuce), or a grilled cheese sandwich (self explanatory). I even knew you could get your fries animal style.

I DIDN'T know the full extent of the secret menu though. And oh my god is it amazing. My usual order is a Double Double (a cheeseburger with double meet and double cheese) animal style with animal styles fries and a Dr. Pepper. But after reading Kenji Lopez-Alt's article on Serious Eats about the In N Out secret menu, I had to make some adjustments to my order. I never knew you could get your burger medium rare, or with chopped chili peppers pressed into the patty! Who knew you could get whole slices of grilled onions rather than diced grilled onions! And there's such a thing as the Flying Dutchman, which is just two patties and two pieces of cheese?! Amazing!! So I changed my order a little bit and it made In N Out even better. I couldn't fathom that my fast food experience would ever be this good, but wow. Next time you go to In N Out make sure to check out the secret menu the links below for all your options and make your In N Out trip the best you've ever had.

Kenji Lopez-Alt on the In N Out Secret Menu

Davis Wiki on the In N Out Secret Menu